KR101398483B1 - A fabric for an air-bag and an air-bag incorporating said fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

A fabric for an air-bag is woven in a pattern which comprises a plurality of fields. At least one of the fields has a first weave pattern, and at least another of the fields has a second weave pattern. The second weave pattern is relatively loosely-woven compared to the first weave pattern. The fabric may be used in the region of one or more mounts of an air-bag.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a fabric for an air bag and an air bag comprising the fabric,

The present invention relates to a general type of airbag which is intended to be used as part of an automotive safety device, and more particularly to a specific type of fabric used in the manufacture of such an airbag.

It has previously been proposed to provide a variety of air bag types, including mounting tabs or mounting areas, for mounting the air bags in place. One type of airbag of that type is a so-called inflatable curtain. Such a general type of airbag is disclosed in GB 227950A.

1 shows a part of an inflated curtain airbag. The airbag has an inflated region (1) with a generally linear top edge (2). The inflation zone 1 is formed by two superimposed layers of fabric, the layers being fixed to each other in selected areas. In some cases, the airbag is formed using an integral weaving process (as disclosed in WO 90/09295), wherein selected areas of the fabric of the two layers are interwoven together to form a single layer of fabric. In the portion of the airbag shown in Fig. 1, the two layers of the fabric of the inflation zone are woven together at the region 3 to form a non-inflation zone and are interwoven together in the zones 4,5 to form individual inflation cells 6, 7). A gas supply conduit 8 extending proximate to the upper edge 2 of the airbag is formed as in the prior art. The gas supply conduit is in fluid communication with the expansion cells (6, 7).

The top edge 2 of the airbag is provided with a plurality of protruding mounting tabs 9, each of which is provided with a through-hole 10. The mounting tabs can be used to mount the airbag in place on the vehicle side window in the roof lining of the vehicle.

Upon inflation of the airbag mounted in place by the mounting tab 9 in the vehicle, substantial force is exerted on the mounting tabs. By providing extra material, or by self-folding the material to thicken the mounting tabs, or by providing additional reinforcing sewing, in order to minimize the risk of the taps being torn off by such force, It has been proposed to enhance the taps. All of these are convenient, but they increase the weight and cost of the airbag.

In another form of airbag, the mounting portion encloses a large hole that receives the gas generator as an annular mounting portion. The mounting portion typically has perforations for receiving the bolts on the flange of the gas generator. The mounting portion is typically reinforced by thickening the mounting portion or by stitching the extra layer of the reinforcing fabric.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fabric for an airbag and an airbag made from such a fabric.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a fabric woven into a pattern for an airbag comprising a plurality of fields, wherein at least one of the fields has a first weave pattern, At least one of the second weave patterns has a second weave pattern and the second weave pattern is relatively loosely woven compared to the first weave pattern.

Preferably, each of the fingers of the second pattern or the second pattern includes at least one of the floats, and the floats of the fingers of the first pattern or each of the first patterns of the first pattern It is longer than the float.

Advantageously, each of the faces of the second pattern of the second pattern or the second pattern includes a plurality of floats, each of the floats having a first pattern of fills or a second pattern of each of the first patterns Is longer than that of each of the floating portions.

Conveniently, each of the fingers of the second pattern of patterns or the second pattern comprises at least twelve floating portions, the floats of which are located on the respective one of the flanks of the first pattern or the first pattern It is longer than each floating part.

Preferably, the first pattern comprises at least a region of a hopsack weave.

Advantageously, the braid includes two floating sections.

Conveniently, the second pattern comprises a plurality of floating portions having different lengths.

Preferably, the second pattern comprises between one and five floats.

Advantageously, the fabric includes a plurality of fills having the first weave pattern and a plurality of fϊels having the second weave pattern, wherein the fi lms having the first pattern are arranged diagonally across the fabric .

Conveniently, the fibers having the first weave pattern are disposed across a plurality of intersecting diagonals across the fabric.

Preferably, the fields of the two weave patterns are arranged in a checkered pattern.

Advantageously, the fills or each of the fills encompass the same number of yarn spun yarns and portions including the seed spun yarns.

Conveniently, the region comprises 6 warp yarns and 6 weft yarns.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an airbag having an inflation zone and at least one mount, wherein the mount or each mount is formed from a fabric as defined above.

Preferably, the mounting portion or each mounting portion is a protruding mounting tab.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

1 is a perspective view of a part of an airbag proposed in the prior art.

2 is an enlarged view of a part of an airbag according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of a typical hopsack fabric weave.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the weave used in the present invention.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least the mounting tabs of the airbag are made using a specific weave, which is a relatively tightly knitted field and a relatively loosely knit, As will be described in more detail below.

In a preferred embodiment, the mounting taps are made from a single layer of such a fabric, which is possible due to the improved strength of the weave.

Referring to FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings, a portion of an airbag according to the present invention is shown, wherein the airbag is an airbag having a design that generally corresponds to the design of the side curtain airbag shown in FIG. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, it can be appreciated that the airbag is formed using one-piece weaving technique, as disclosed in International Application Publication No. WO 90/09295. The top edge 2 of the airbag is formed by two separate layers of fabric co-weaving together into a substantially gas-impermeable seam 11. The fabric is a one-piece weaving technique ) Is used to form the remainder of the airbag. The two separate layers (12, 13) of the fabric split under the seam (11) to form a gas flow conduit (8).

A mounting tab 9 extending upwardly from the upper edge 2 of the airbag is formed again from the fabric as the entire structure of the airbag is woven. As pointed out above, in contrast to conventional, this type of previously proposed airbags, it is preferable that the mounting tabs 9 be formed from a single thickness of fabric, preferably woven. However, the fabric of the present invention can not be used in a mounting tab formed from two laterally interwoven layers of fabric which are subsequently stitched together or otherwise bonded together. The mounting tab is provided with a central through-hole (10).

In the region of the tab 9, a "special" weave is used for the fabric as will now be described.

In many airbags previously proposed, a hopsack weave is used for the fabric of airbags. Fig. 3 shows the weave pattern. In the weave fabric, a plurality of adjacent warp spun yarns are passed "parallel" together above and below selected groups of weft spun yarns, and the weft spun yarns are exactly passed above and below the same sets of warp yarns. Referring to Figure 3, there are shown six warp yarns 21-26 and six weft yarns 27-33. It can be seen that the three first warp yarns 21-23 form a group of warp yarns extending "parallel " to pass the same set of weft yarns exactly up and down. Also, the three second warp yarns 24-26 form a second group of yarns, which in the same way pass over and under the same selected sets of weft yarns. Likewise, weft spun yarns (27-29) form a group of spun yarns extending "parallel" above and below the same sets of warp spun yarns and weft spun yarns (30-32) form a group of spun yarns extending above and below the same selected set of warp yarns Lt; / RTI >

Thus, in the shell structure shown in FIG. 3, a group of three warp yarns passes above and below a group of three weft yarns and vice versa. Therefore, the braid shown in Fig. 3 can be described as "3 x 3 braid braid ". The batting cloth can be created using a group of spinning yarns containing two or more spinning yarns in each group (e.g., "2 x 2 spinning blocks"). It is easy to manufacture but does not have strong strength or rupture resistance.

The fabric of the present invention utilizes a new weave pattern, which includes a plurality of areas or "fields ", wherein some of the faces have a relatively loosely woven weave pattern, The other has a relatively tightly woven weave pattern.

Fig. 4 shows an example of the weave of the present invention and shows a plurality of warp yarns 33-35 woven together with a plurality of weft yarns including weft yarns 51-56.

Starting from the left side of Fig. 4, considering the weft yarn 51, the weft yarn 51 first passes over the four warp yarns 33-36 to form four "floats" do. In this regard, the term "flotation" is used to indicate the length of the yarn on the surface of the woven fabric between two consecutive intersections of the yarn, while the yarns are woven at right angles. That is, "floating" is specified by the number of yarns that the "floating" yarn passes up or down.

After first passing over the four warp yarns 33-36, the weft yarn 51 is passed under the warp yarn 37 and thereafter the next five consecutive warp yarns 38-42 ) To form five floating portions. The weft yarn 51 is then passed over the warp yarn 43, then over the warp yarn 44, below the warp yarn 45 and over the next two successive warp yarns 46,47 And after that the weft yarn 51 passes under the next two warp yarns 48,49 and creates two other floating portions before passing over the warp yarns 50. [

As shown in FIG. 4, no two adjacent weft yarns are woven through the warp yarns in the same manner during the repetition of the finished weft as shown in FIG. Likewise, no two adjacent warp yarns are woven through the weft yarn in the same manner during the completed iteration as shown. It will be noted, however, that in certain areas of the illustrated braid loop, the pairs of adjacent warp and weft yarns have the same braid path over a portion of their length. For example, with respect to the upper right region of the weave repeat shown in FIG. 4, the third, adjacent, weft yarns 52, 53 follow the same weave path through the warp yarns 44-50.

Although the weave pattern and the distribution of the floating parts shown in Fig. 4 may seem initially entirely random, they are not. For a more complete understanding of the features of the present invention, the fabric may be considered to be divided into multiple regions or "fills ", as indicated by the dotted line grid shown in Fig. Thus, it can be seen that the portion of the fabric shown in Fig. 4 is divided into nine pieces, denoted as 57 to 65 as a whole. It will be noted that the field 59 has the same weave pattern as the weave pattern of the flanks 61,63. Likewise, the weave pattern of the flange 57 is the same as the weave pattern of the flanges 58, 60, 62, 64, Thus, the weave repetition shown in FIG. 4 includes a plurality of fields, some have a second weave pattern, and others have a second weave pattern.

Considering first the weave pattern of two fields 59,61,63, which can be regarded as representing the first weave pattern, this weave pattern is at least similar to the two-by-two weave pattern in its central region , Wherein adjacent pairs of adjacent weft yarns 52,53 and 54,55 pass together in parallel " parallel " and down over adjacent pairs of warp yarns 46,47 and 48,49 Will be. It will be noted that with respect to the size of the floating portion existing in the first weave pattern of the flanges 59, 61 and 63, the maximum floating length is 2, as shown in the central flange weave region of the pattern.

Now, considering the second articulation pattern, the second articulation pattern is greater than the first articulation pattern shown in the fields 59,61,63, as indicated in the fields 57,58,60,62,64,65 It will be noted that it is less regular. The second weave pattern includes a plurality of floating portions having different lengths, which include floating portions that are longer than the maximum length of the floating portions existing in the first weave pattern. In particular, the second weave pattern includes a number of floats (as shown by both warp yarns and weft yarns) having lengths of 3, 4, and 5. For example, the weft yarn 51 forms four floating portions when it passes over the warp yarns 33-36; The weft yarn 52 forms five floating portions when it passes over the warp yarns 33-37; The weft spun yarn 54 forms the first span of 3 when it passes up the warp spun yarns 33-35; And forming a second floating portion of 3 when passing under the warp yarns 36-38; The weft spun yarn 55 forms the floating portion of 4 when it passes down the warp spun yarns 35-38; And the weft spun yarn 56 forms a floating portion 5 when it passes under the warp spun yarns 34-38.

Likewise, the warp yarn 33 forms a floating portion 4 when it passes under the weft yarn 51-54; The warp yarn 34 forms five floating portions when it passes under the weft yarns 51-55; The warp yarns 36 form three first floating portions when they pass under the weft yarns 51-53 and form a second floating portion 3 when passing over the weft yarns 54-56; The warp yarn (37) forms the floating portion of 4 when it passes up the weft yarn (53-56); The warp yarn 38 forms a floating portion 5 when it passes over the weft yarn 52-56.

Thus, each of the foils 57, 58, 60, 62, 64, 65 of the second weave pattern includes twelve floating portions, each of which has a first weave pattern of the flanks 59,61, Is longer than the maximum length of the floating part present.

Since each of the fields having the second weave pattern includes a longer floating portion than is present in the field of the first weave pattern, the second weave of the flanges (57, 58, 60, 62, 64, 65) The pattern is relatively loosely woven compared to the first weave pattern present in the flanges (59, 61, 63).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the flanged (59,61,63) having a tight first weave pattern is disposed diagonally across the fabric. This arrangement of tightly knit fibers has proven to be particularly advantageous in airbag fabrics and provides superior strength and tear resistance while being relatively flexible, which is an important feature for the mounting tab 9. [ It is understood, however, that other implementations of the weave pattern of the present invention will include those having a tight first weave pattern arranged with a plurality of intersecting diagonals. Such an arrangement forms, for example, a fabric with a checher pattern of foils, where tightly knitted fibers are placed adjacent to the loosely knitted fibers at all four sides.

The combination as described above of relatively taut knitted fibers and relatively loosely knitted fibers creates an airbag fabric with both high elongation and high rupture resistance but still retains relatively good flexibility All of these characteristics being important and advantageous, in particular, in the formation of the mounting tabs 9. However, it is contemplated that the braid of the present invention may be used to provide other reinforced regions, such as, for example, a region under the throat 8 that undergoes particularly intense gas flow upon inflation, or a region where the strap is attached to the airbag. It should be understood that the airbag may be constructed using the airbag.

The present invention is described with reference to Fig. 4 showing the fills (57, 65) and each of the fills (57, 65) encompasses a region including six warp yarns and six weft yarns, It should be appreciated that in variants the fields may be smaller or larger than that. For example, it is understood that each of the fills may have a size that encompasses a maximum of twelve warp yarns and twelve weft yarns.

Also, while the present invention has been described above with reference to a relatively tightly knit field 59, 61, 63 with a maximum float size of 2, the present invention can have its longer floating size, For example, it can have a length up to 5. In such a configuration, it is still important that the loosely knit floating portion has floating portions that are longer than the maximum length of the floating portion present in the loosely knitted floating portion.

As used in the specification and claims, the terms "comprising" and "comprising" and variations thereof mean that a particular feature, step, or integer is included. Such terms should not be interpreted as excluding the presence of other features, steps or components.

In the foregoing description and in the following claims or the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the features disclosed in the specific forms or the means for performing the disclosed functions, or the methods or processes for achieving the disclosed results, , Individually or in combination of such features, as appropriate.

The present invention can be used in an automobile air bag and the like.

Claims (15)

A fabric of an airbag having an inflation region and at least one mounting portion (9), said fabric being used to form said mounting portion (9), said fabric having a pattern comprising a plurality of fields (57-65) And at least one of the fields (59,61,63) has a first weave pattern, and the other one of the fields (57,58,60,62,64,65) With a second weave pattern, wherein the second weave pattern is relatively loosely woven compared to the first weave pattern, The method of any preceding claim, wherein the field (57, 58, 60, 62, 64, 65) of the second weave pattern comprises a plurality of floats, 0.0 > 63, < / RTI > 63, Wherein the second weave pattern comprises a plurality of floats of different lengths. delete delete The method according to claim 1, The fins (57, 58, 60, 62, 64, 65) of the second weave pattern include at least twelve floats, each of the floats having a first weave pattern 61, 63). ≪ / RTI > The method according to claim 1, The first weave pattern includes at least a region of a hopsack weave. 6. The method of claim 5, The fabric of the airbag, which includes two floating parts. delete The method according to claim 1, And the second weave pattern comprises between one and five floats. The method according to claim 1, (57, 58, 60, 62, 64, 65) having the first weave pattern and a plurality of the weaves having the second weave pattern, A fabric with a mesh pattern is disposed diagonally across the fabric. 10. The method of claim 9, 60. The fabric of an airbag according to any preceding claim, wherein the first mesh pattern (57, 58, 60, 62, 64, 65) is arranged diagonally across the fabric. 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, Wherein the fingers (57-65) of the two weave patterns are disposed in a checkered pattern. The method according to claim 1, The fleece (57-65) covers the same number of warp yarns (33-38) and weft yarns (51-56). 13. The method of claim 12, Wherein said region comprises six warp yarns (33-38) and six weft yarns (51-56). delete An airbag having a mounting portion (9) formed from a fabric of an airbag according to Claim 1, wherein the mounting portion (9) is a protruding mounting tab.

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